yorolpal
Ognis!! Hey, ol pal...welcome back. As you might imagine 7 years is a lifetime in computer world. Everything has gone Windows 7 (at least) and 64bit. And it's...natch...waaaay better. Hows it hangin?
I was about to say that XP is dead and then some.
Do not go under W7 ... and make sure it is 64bit. W8 64bit is fine too, but it appears there are some places where there are driver issues. I'm not the best one to ask about that side of things.
I recommend only using the PRO versions of Windows ... for one reason. They are not designed for home use and their abuse of your connection under what you are doing is quite a bit less than the home version of the software. If you are serious about music, then PRO is what you have to use, and I will not even consider anything that is not 64bit, ANYWAY!
But I'm a geek ... and still paly a little WoWarcraft, and my big box is a big BBBIIIGGG box that can handle music from here to Siberia and back via Bapu's!